Quick Reference

Meaning & Definition

Mittsu (三つ) is the everyday way to say (three) when you are counting almost any object in Japanese — apples, chairs, mistakes, you name it. It is also the word every learner memorizes early through the sing-song counting sequence hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu, which makes it one of the first real building blocks of Japanese number sense.

Mittsu belongs to a special native-Japanese counting series called the tsu-counters: hitotsu (one), futatsu (two), mittsu (three), yottsu (four), all the way up to too (ten). This series is used for general, uncategorized objects — things without a dedicated counter word — as well as for the ages of small children and for abstract items like ideas or reasons. It stands apart from the Sino-Japanese number san (三) plus a specific counter, such as sanko (三個, three general items counted with -ko) or sanbon (three long thin things). In casual speech, mittsu often works as a simpler substitute when the exact counter slips your mind: mittsu kudasai (three, please) is understood just as clearly as naming the precise counter. The word also survives in set phrases such as mitsugo (三つ子, triplets, literally three-child) and mitsuba (三つ葉, trefoil, a three-leafed herb used in Japanese cooking). Note the small tsu (っ) in the pronunciation — it creates a brief pause before the final tsu, giving mittsu its distinctive clipped rhythm compared to futatsu or yottsu.

How to Use It

Think of the hitotsu–futatsu–mittsu series as a safety net: when you are not sure which specific counter an object takes (long things, flat things, small animals, and so on), you can usually fall back on this native series instead of freezing up. Just remember it only covers hitotsu through too (ten) — past that, Japanese switches to the number plus a specific counter, so there is no native-style word for (eleven things). Do not confuse mittsu with sanko or sanbon; those pair the Sino-Japanese number san with a counter suffix, and swapping the two systems (like saying san-tsu) is a common beginner mistake — mittsu already contains the counter, no suffix needed. Also watch for the double meaning: mittsu can mean either (three items) or (three years old) for a young child, and it appears fixed in words like mitsugo (triplets).

Example Sentences

Cultural Context

Japanese runs on two parallel counting systems, and learning to switch between them is a genuine milestone. The Sino-Japanese numbers (ichi, ni, san) borrowed from Chinese pair with dozens of specific counters depending on shape and category, while the native hitotsu-through-too series descends from Japan’s own older number words and applies broadly to general objects. Mittsu sits right in the middle of that native series, which is why textbooks introduce it so early — mastering all ten words in order is often a learner’s first taste of Japanese grammar that does not map neatly onto English.

The series also shows up in family and cultural vocabulary beyond simple counting. Mitsugo (三つ子, triplets) uses mittsu to mean three children born together, while mitsuba (三つ葉), a three-leafed herb often floated in Japanese soups, gets its name from the same root for (three). And because the tsu-counters double as age words for young children, saying a child is mittsu means they have just turned three — a detail that comes up around Japan’s Shichi-Go-San (Seven-Five-Three) tradition, when three-year-olds are dressed up and taken to a shrine to mark healthy growth.

📚 Learn More